McConkey's bankruptcy filing delays foreclosure case

Del. Tony McConkey filed for bankruptcy yesterday, delaying a jury trial that was set to begin today in a civil case in which he is accused of scamming a woman out of her home.

A judge ruled in September that the Severna Park Republican violated state law when he bought the home of a Pasadena woman facing foreclosure.

The jury was set to rule on additional allegations of fraud, misrepresentation and determine final damages, but Mr. McConkey's bankruptcy filing puts a halt to that process. He filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Maryland.

"It was a business decision," said Gregory M. Kline, his attorney. He also pointed out his client works in the depressed real estate industry. "That is obviously not a good place to be right now."

Attorneys for his alleged victim, Teresa Milligan, said this morning they plan to file legal paperwork to continue their case. They said they anticipate a decision from the bankruptcy court in the next three to five weeks.

"(We) are prepared to go to trial and are looking forward to putting an end to this nightmare for (our) client, who is now homeless," said Michael Gregg Morin, an attorney for Ms. Milligan.

Ms. Milligan, who currently is living with family, declined to comment.

The lawyer for Mr. McConkey said the politician is ready to face a jury.

"Del. McConkey is looking forward to his day in court," said Mr. Kline. "There was nothing improper about what he did."

Circuit Court Judge D. William Sampson ruled in September that Mr. McConkey violated the Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure Act in 2006 by acting as a foreclosure consultant to Ms. Milligan and then buying her home.

Judge Sampson declared Mr. McConkey's deed to the house null and void, but did not decide how much Ms. Milligan should receive in damages.

The delegate has said he was just trying to help Ms. Milligan save her home when he bought it three days before it was scheduled to be sold at auction, and for the past three years he made the only mortgage payments on the house.

"I agreed to buy (the house)," he said in September. "She agreed to sell it. Everything was hunky-dory for nine months until she reneged on the deal. But for me, she would have lost her house three years ago."

Although Ms. Milligan claims she never knew she was signing over her house, Mr. McConkey said in 2006 he had 40 pages of signed and notarized documents showing he fully explained the situation.

Mr. McConkey has had a troubled court history. The member of the House Judiciary Committee settled a similar lawsuit in 2006. He was given probation before judgement on a 1992 battery charge, but said the case was a dispute between a landlord and tenant that escalated too far.

He was voluntarily disbarred as an attorney in 1995 for misappropriation of funds, but said he never had a client besides himself and ended his legal career because of a bad business deal.

Staff Writer Scott Daugherty contributed to this article.